“Thanks for coming. I’m here to pitch an idea I believe will save us (or make us) a lot of money. I will take only 15 minutes of your time. I only have 7 slides and a short kick-ass demo. Ask me whatever you like whenever you like. Let’s go.”
Pitching
Form and style – not just content and substance – are obviously hugely important to everyone. It’s how we win arguments, get promoted, get others promoted, communicate, get funding and define success (even when we fail). Pitches must be short, pretty and fun. They must also be impactful and creative. They should have as few slides as possible – if slides – based on your audience analysis – are even appropriate. They tell a story – but not a detailed story, lest the audience get lost in the “story” and not the purpose of the story. There should be pictures and graphics. There should be some preliminary material sent to the audience – but not too much. Assume everyone is busy, so make the pitch short and to the point – which you will describe to the audience at the beginning, in the middle and after your presentation. Remind the audience why you’re there every five minutes.
If you’re pitching for project dollars here are some things you might want to keep in mind.
First and foremost, you must establish purpose.
- Why you’re there
- What you want
- Why the pitch matters
You should do an audience analysis. Who are they? What do they like, dislike? You should pre-profile them for their style and substance preferences.
You should list three things you want them to know and remember after the pitch. You should reverse engineer the form and content of the pitch to those three things. If you insist on five or more things, you will fail to communicate.
Here’s a start:
“Thanks for coming. I’m here to pitch an idea I believe will save us (or make us) a lot of money. I will take only 15 minutes of your time. I only have 7 slides and a short kick-ass demo. Ask me whatever you like whenever you like. Let’s go.”
Investment Committee Questions
You should anticipate questions.
You must prepare for these and related questions:
“How Much Money Can We Make (or Save)?
- What’s the likely ROI?
- What are the best case/worst case scenarios?
- Quantify the win/lose scenarios
What’s the Size of the Market (Market Analysis/Customer Testing)?
- What’s the target problem?
- How big and profitable is the target market?
- How many competitors are in the market now?
- How fast are new competitors entering –and leaving – the market?
- How fast are their revenues growing? Or shrinking?
- Are there any initial clients/customers we can speak with? Who's already on board?
What’s the New, Big Idea?
- New technology?
- New services?
- Hybrid delivery model?
- Is there any IP? If so, what’s the status of the IP?
- What’s the irresistible value proposition?
How Much Money Do You Want – & For What – Specifically?
- How much money is required?
- What’s the expected monthly cash burn over the next 12 months?
- What’s your expected burn rate, revenue and profitability over the next 1-3? (No one cares about returns 5 years out)
- How do you plan to spend the money? Why?
- What's the schedule? What are the milestones?
How Experienced & Successful is the Team?
- Who’s on the ideation team, the delivery team, the advisory board?
- What’s their combined entrepreneurial history?
- Who are the references very familiar with the founding team’s experiences we can contact?
Wrap your answers in a brisk, flexible, fun, visual pitch – and then go with the unpredictable flow.
Demos
There’s nothing better than “showing.” Demonstration prototypes can be incredibly effective. But they must be “executive grade,” that is, understandable by those with a lot less domain and solutions expertise than the pitch team – and tailored to the specific audience you’re trying to persuade. Demos should last five minutes or less. Make sure you back-up live demos with screen shots just in case “live” dies.
Final Pitch Thoughts
The pitch itself must be “active.” It cannot consist of 25 dead Powerpoint slides with tons of text and graphics on every slide. Everyone hopes pitches will be brief and to the point, and ideally aligned to the audience’s catechism. It should have links to graphics and videos with an embedded use case-based demonstration. A prospective client’s/customer’s testimonial can be very effective.
Make sure you always dry-run your pitch – as many times as necessary. Find some outsiders to inspect the words and music of your pitch play. Listen to their reviews. Adjust, recognizing there’s no such thing as a perfect pitch.
At the end of the day, remember that you (and your investors) want to know how you’re going to save or make money with the least cost possible. The form and content of your pitch must speak directly to these goals.
Thanks for reading. I just pitched you some ideas about how to pitch. You can read about them in just a few minutes. Ask me whatever you like whenever you like.
